Construction of saddletrees



D. J. FLUDE.

coNsTRucTloN or SADDLETREES.

APPLICATION FILED FEB. 23. 1921.

Patented Aug. 16, 1921.

Unirse sraras earner oer-ice.l

DANIEL J. FLUIDE, or nssnNnoN, VICTORIA, AnsrrtALrA, AssrGNoR or1` ONE-HALF To HENRY MICHAEL FETI-IERSTON AND FERDINAND 'WILLIAM sorrnLnNAoK, Born OF JllEIiBO'UILNE,Y VICTORIA, AUSTRALIA.

Application fuea February 23, 1921.

To all whom if may concern:

Be it known that I, DANIEL JOSEPH FLUDE, a subject of the King of Great Britain and Ireland, and a resident ofthe city of Essendon, in the county of Bourke, State of Victoria, Commonwealth of Australia, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in and relating -to the Construction of Saddletrees, of which the following is a specication.

This invention relates to saddletrees, particularly the trees of racing and like saddles of comparatively light construction.

Hitherto racing and like saddletrees have been usually constructed of wood and metal, the arched head member (which forms the foundation of the pommel and front portion of the saddle) being formed in two halves which are united at the middle or crown of the arch by metal plates extending across the head member. Such a head member is attached to the front or end portions of the substantially U-shaped seat member (which forms the foundation of the saddle seat and cantle) by a butt joint which is re-v inforced by metal plates riveted to the head piece and the yends of the seat member.

Saddletrees asabove constructed are neces- .sarily very light and are objectionable for various reasons, principally on account of their inherent weakness and liability to fracture and the rigidity of the end portions or points of the lhead member which prevents the saddle readily accommodating itself to a particular horse or rider and renders the points liable to wear through the thin 'side flaps of the saddle and to cause discomfort and injury to the riders knees.` Separate Vleather points are commonly attached to the end portions or legs of the head member but such an arrangement is objectionable on account of the time and labor entailed in connecting the points Land the liability `of the connectionsbecoming worn and vthe points detached.-

'The object of the present inventionis toV provide an limproved tree principally intended for racing and like light saddles ybut not necessarily limited thereto, the improved tree being stronger, and more flexible, easier and cheaper -to manu-facture7 easier to fit,

and more durable and comfortable for the horse and rider than existing saddletrees of -a similar' type.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Aug. 16, 1921. serial No. 447,132.

According to `the invention `the substantially U-shaped seat member may be constructed of wood as at present but the arched head member is constructed'of leather, the tenacious and exible properties of this material rendering it most suitable for the purpose in view. The leather head member is formed in one piece and is provided-with rearwardlyprojecting integral arms adapted toy be secured to the front ends of the seat member in such manner as to form an extended lap joint between the two members. The intermediate arched portion of the leather head member is thickened or stiffened in relation to its end portions` which form integral flexible tongues or points for insertion into the usual tree pockets on the interior of the saddle panels. Theseflexible tongues permit the saddle to readily accommoda-te itself to `the shape of different animals and otherwiseovercom'e the aforesaid disadvantages entailed by the rigid wood and metal head members kof kexisting trees. The features of the invention will, however', be more fully set out in the following description and claims.

Referring to the drawings which form part of this specificationr-k Y -Figure l is al side elevation of a leather head member for'a rac-ing saddle tree in accordance with .the invention.

Fig. 2 is a front view of Fig. l.

Fig. 3 is a perspective view of `an arched metal reinforcement yfor the head member.

Fig. ais a vertical section on line A-A of F 2. b Fig. 5 is a plan ofthe improved head mem- Fig. 6 is a side view on Va reduced scale of a complete saddle'tree according yto the invention.

F ig. 7 is an enlarged longitudinal section on line Be-B of Fig. 6. v Y

Fig. 8 is an enlarged vertical section on line (1 -Cof F ig. 6.

. Fig. 9 is a plan :and Fig. vvl0 is an inverse plan of Fig. 26.'

.Referring `to the drawings the numeral 2 Vindicates the bowed cantleportion at the lThis member maybe constructedk of `metallic side strips 12 are employed, the

" front and rear ends 13 and 14 of these side strips being fixed to the seat member and their intermediate portions being left free so as to permit of the necessary iiexure of the side bars 3 when in use.

In conjunction with the conventional seat member above described, an arched head member as shown in Figs. 1, 2, 4 and 5 is, according to the present invention employed. This member is constructed of leather and includes an intermediate arched portion 16 which is comparatively thick and stiff in relation tothe end portions of the head member. This stiffening of the intermediate arched portion may be brought about by building up one or more layers of leather on the arch of the basic layer or strip, or the latter may be initially formed with a thickened intermediate portion.

Adjoining the intermediate arch 16 are downwardly divergent side legs 17 the upper portions of which are also of a comparatively stiff nature. Positioning pieces 18 of leather are attached by a suitable adhesive to the inner surfaces of the legs 17. The positioning pieces enable the forward ends of the side bars 3 to be readily attached in correct posi-tion on the head member, the lower edges of the side bars fitting closely against the upper edges 15 of the positioning pieces and the front extremities 25 of said side bars being disposed approximately flush with the front edge of the head member instead of abutting against the rear edge thereof as at present.

The positioning pieces 18 are preferably tapered or chamfered as in Fig. 2 and their lower edges 2O form the roots of flexible tongues or points 19 which constitute the end portions of the downwardly divergent legs 17 and are adapted to iit into the usual tree pockets of the saddle panels.

Formed integral with the downwardly divergent side legs 17 and at each side of the intermediate arched portion 16 is a rearwardly projecting arm or extension 22. These arms are adapted to overlap the front jointing portions 4 at the ends of the U-shaped seat member as seen in Figs. 6 to 10 and are united thereto by a suitable adhesire.

Formed transversely across the top or crown of the arched portion 16 is an elongated pocket 24. This pocket extends only partially through the arched portion 6 and is thus provided with an open top and a closed bottom and ends. The pocket 24 is adapted to accommodate an arched metallic reinforcing plate 29 to reinforce the arch of the tree. Such reinforcing plate is commonly used with existing saddle trees to reinforce the joint between the meeting-ends of the two halves of the wooden head member. In the present invention, the unitary nature of the leather head member renders the pocket 24 and plate 29 non-essential, and these elements may therefore be dispensed with if desired.

In applying the reinforcing plate 29 to existing saddle trees the semi-arched portion of each half of the head member is cut right through, forming an open topped and open bottom slit which greatly weakens the structure. By forming the pocket 24 of less depth than the thickness of the arched portion 16, this disadvantage is to a great extent overcome when the reinforcing plate is employed.

Secured by rivets to the upper and lower surfaces of the head member are upper and lower metal reinforcing straps 32 and 33 respectively. The upper strap 32 is provided with rearwardly extending end portions or feet 34 which are secured to the 'I arms 22 of the head member and the jointing portions 4 of the seat member by rivets 36 passing through the three lapped elements and also through the metal strips 12. The ends of the lower strap 33 terminate near the roots of the flexible tongues 19 as shown.

A thin leather cover piece 37 is preferably glued or cemented over the crown of the arched head member as shown thereby cov-- ering the metal parts at this point and providing a smooth and neat finish.

By constructing a saddle tree as above described, it will be evident that the struc ture is rendered much stronger and more durable than a tree having the usual two piece wooden. head member. The rearwardly projecting integral arms 22 lapped over the front portions of the side bars 3 provide an extremely strong joint between the head piece and the seat member, this joint being much superior to the present butt joint which constitutes an extremely weak point in the tree owing to the nature of the joint and to the fact that the upper ends of the stirrup leathers or straps are secured to the Yfront portions of the side bars 3 adjacent this joint. The downward pressure of the rider on the stirrups consequently entails considerable strain upon this part of the tree.

The integral flexible tongues 19 of the leather head member also provide distinct advantages over existing saddletrees for the reasons mentioned. A. tree constructed according to this invention is moreover practically unbreakable and generally more efcient, durable, and economical in manufacture than saddletrees constructed in accordance with present practice.

It. will be evident that the term onepiece employed in this specification is primarily intended to distinguish the head member of the present invention from saddletrees having the ordinary wooden head member which is constructed in two separate halves or pieces these halves being joined togetherat the center of the tree arch as aforesaid.

Having now described my invention what claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent is 1. As a new article of manufacture, an arched leather head member for a saddletree, which is structurally separate from the seat member of the tree and which has rearwardly projecting integral arms adapted to overlap and to be attached to the forward portions of the seat member to form an lrlongated lap joint between the two memers.

2. As a new article of manufacture, a onepiece leather head member for a saddletree, which is structurally separate from the seat member of the tree and which'has an intermediate arched portion from, which extend downwardly divergent integral side legs, and integral arms projecting` 'rearwardly from the rear edge of said legs on opposite sides of the intermediate arched portion and adapted to overlap and to be attached to the forward portions of the seat member so as to form an elongated lap joint between the two members.

3. A .saddletree comprising a leather head member having an intermediate arched portion, downwardly divergent side legs integral with said arched portion, iexible tongues or points at the ends of and integral with said legs, the intermediate arched portion being stiifened in relation to said tongues, integral arms projecting rearwardly from the head member at each side of the arched portion, and a positioningpiece attached to the inner face of each downwardly divergent leg between the intermediate arched portion and the adjacent flexible tongue for the purpose set forth.

4. A saddletree comprising a substantially U-shaped seat member having opposite side bars, and an arched leather head piece structurally separate from the seat member and said arms overlapping and being secured to j the front portions of said side bars, and positioning pieces attached to the downwardly divergent legs of the head member between said arms and tongues, the upper edges of the positioning pieces engaging the lower edges of the seat member side bars substantially as and for the purpose described.

6. A saddletree comprising in combination a substantially U-shaped seat member having opposite side bars, a one-piece arched leather head member having rearwardly projecting arms forming a lap joint withthe front portions of said side bars which extend approximately to the front edge of the head member, said head member having a stiffened arched intermediate portion, downwardly divergent legs integral with said arched portion and flexible tongues or points Y integral with said legs, an upper metal strap extending over said arched portion and having rearwardly projecting feet attached to said rearwardly projecting arms and said side bars, anda lower metal strap passing beneath said arched portion and having its ends terminating near the roots of the flexible tongues or points substantially as described.

7. As a new article of manufacture, a leather head member for a saddletree which is structurally separate from the ktree and comprises an intermediate arched portion and downwardly divergent side legs integral therewith, the intermediate portionrof the inner face of each leg having a positioning piece attached thereto for engagement with the adjacent side bar of the seat member.

In testimony whereof I affix my signature.

D. J. FLUDE. 

